The Pencil Nebula, named for it's distinguished long and slim shape, is a remnant of a supernova explosion that occured about 11,000 years ago. This supernova occured when a star in the constellation Vela grew 250 times brighter than Venus, to be visible in the daytime sky. Gaseous debris from this huge supernova have been left in the sky. This nebula is only a small part of the total debris (which is about 100 light years across), but distinctive enough to have gained its own name. It is about 5 light meters long and about 800 light years away. The nebula is made up of strong bright concentrations of gas and smaller patches of diffuse gas. The nebula is so bright because the shock wave from the supernova continues to move at 500,000 kilometers per hour, slamming it into gases and interstellar debris. However, 500,000 kilometers per hour is nothing compared to the millions of kilometers per hour at which the supernove shock wave travelled at first.
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